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The Deepshikha programme works to bring education and empowerment to these adolescent girls and, in the long-term, to ensure increased participation in decision-making that affects them.
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Twenty-four-old Rukma is a prerika, a volunteer facilitator at the local Deepshikha adolescent girls’ group. As a result of Rukma’s tireless efforts, fifteen adolescent girls including Anusya (in red) have returned to school.

By Alistair Gretarsson

CHANDRAPUR, India, 25 February 2011 – In the centre of the Indian sub-continent, in the eastern part of the state of Maharashtra, lies the district of Chandrapur. The people who live in the remote, rural areas here are tribal and are some of the state’s most socially excluded communities.

Traditionally, women here marry young and often give birth to children at an age when they are not physically or emotionally ready, at great danger to their own lives. But in some of these villages, things are changing.